A conventional food waste disposer typically includes an upper food conveying section, a lower motor section, and a central grinding section disposed between the food conveying section and the motor section. The food conveying section conveys the food waste to the central grinding section. The motor section includes an induction motor imparting rotational movement to a motor shaft. The grinding section includes a grinding mechanism having a circular rotating shredder plate, a pair of grinding lugs, and a stationary shredder ring. The plate is mounted to the motor shaft of the motor section. The shredder ring has a plurality of teeth.
In the operation of the food waste disposer, the food waste is passed through the food conveying section and to the grinding section. The food waste delivered to the grinding section is forced by grinding lugs on the rotating plate against teeth of the shredder ring. The edges of the teeth grind or communicate the food waste into particulate matter sufficiently small to pass from above the grinding plate to below the grinding plate via gaps between the teeth outside the periphery of the plate. Due to gravity, the particulate matter passes through the gaps between the teeth and drops to a section below the plate. Along with water injected into the disposer via the sink drain opening, the particulate matter is discharged through a discharge outlet into a waste tailpipe.
Conventional disposers generate external noise during operation. A primary source of noise during operation is the impact of food particles against the grinding mechanism (rotating shredder plate, grinding lugs, and stationary shredder ring). Additional noise is also created, in part, by the operation of the induction motor. To reduce noise, it has been known to place an insulating shell around the exterior housings of conventional disposers. Typical insulating shells contain an expanded polystyrene or open cell foam material as the insulating medium. While this technique reduces some of the noise emitted during operation of the disposer, further noise reduction is needed.
The present invention is directed to overcoming, or at least reducing noise emanated during the operation of food waste disposers.